Changing racks from Grand Prix to home made??

I would try to integrate the GPA racks into your cabinetry somehow.

Tom6897,
Good post and comments!
"If it sounds good to you...it is good! period...!"

That says it all.
Regards,

In our studio we have listened to and compared various models of racking systems.

The differences in sound varied dimensionally much the same as when comparing an assortment of loudspeakers.

A few incredible designs provided by far greater results but would be extremely difficult to duplicate due to the materials and geometries implemented in the design. The majority of other products sampled that are fully acceptable to rational understanding provided the opposite of positive results or no audible change in sound at all.

We have found a couple of specialty companies who manufacture high-end racking systems that literally increase the quality of sound from your playback/recording system. Unfortunately many audiophiles do not know of, can relate to or understand from personal experience this extremely audible level in performance from racking until they audition one for themselves.

Like everything in audio if you have a keen set of ears A/B/A blind testing will prove that an efficient functional racking design is as critical to sound reproduction as any major component or monitoring system.

Should you exchange your current racking system in lieu of other ‘best guess’ design scenarios; implementing multiple material choices and isolation methodologies will undoubtedly yield a sonic difference in your end result but is that going to be a positive change? Chances are that you will not achieve close to the results that are now in place.

Depending on your overall approach and personal quest to attain the highest levels in musical quality or prior to taking a reverse step in performance Elescher’s approach should be considered here.

Disclaimer: My father works with a commercial company that employs various forms of vibration management so I am biased, have had greater access to knowledge from experience and have applied various techniques and multiple grounding principles in recording studio settings.

Studiosoundman, great post!

Many of the audiophile racks use constrained layer shelving. I believe some of the the Grand Prix racks may use straight acrylic.

My only recommendation would be to incorporate the constrained layer principle into your shelving material. I've experimented with a number of shelf materials over the years: granite marble, glass (including very thick glass and security or laminated glass), corian, MDF, phenolic, maple etc.

On a budget I would recommend a constrained layer shelf consisting of two layers of baltic birch with a 1/8" piece of neoprene sheet between them. The neoprene sheeting would be available online or typically from an upholsterer. A single shelf would probably come in around $30-$40 in this configuration. I would vary the thickness of the baltic birch to accommodate the weight of individual components. Just thick enough to support the weight without any signs of buckling or sagging.

Spending a bit more, but probably still significantly less than 1 1/2" maple, you could use extruded acrylic as the top layer, followed by the neoprene sheeting with baltic birch on the bottom. Again, just thick enough in total to support the component with no sagging. This configuration will be more expensive due to the cost of the acrylic but really offers exceptional performance IMO. I use this under my table in an older Target Wall Mount and the combination was the best in my experience.

1 1/2" phenolic was probably a distant second in terms of sonics, is substantially heavier and also quite expensive.